Shrimp assimilating machine



`lune 16, 1953 A E, WALTMAN Y 2,641,797

SHRIMP ASSIMILATING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1949 v 4 6 Sheets-Sheet l fil A i l l gtg' Ess :l: .50

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I Jun? 15, 1953 A. E. WALTMAN 2,641,797

SHRIMP ASSIMILATING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1949 g 6 Sheets-Sheet? @ff/m? June 16, 1953.

A. E. WALTMAN SHRIMP AssIMILATING MACHINE 6 .Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed MarCh 22, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 A. E. wALTMAN SHRIMP AssIMILATING MACHINE '-Ollllllllllll u:

June 16, 1953 Filed March 22, 1949 .IA/VENTO R.

June 16, 1953 A. E. wALTMAN 2,641,797

SHRIMP ASSIMILATING MACHINE Filed March 22, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheetv 5 Mfwzz June 16, 1953 A. E. WALTMAN 2,641,797

SHRIMP ASSIMILATING MACHINE Filed March 22. 1949 e sheets-sheet e O7 /f/ 6m /27 29 f z o 3/ 0 O l I 3o I. e 27 "I y? /20 /Z/ /3 f0\ 'Il 2%4 9 l f/ 2in IIllll, l.||

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frozen product.

Patented June 16K, 1.953

2,641,797 SHRIMP ASSIMILATING MACHINEA Adolf E. Waltman, Pass Christian, Miss., assigner of one-third to Edgar P. Guice and one-thirdv to Eldon E. Hickey Miss.

, both of Ocean Springs,

Application March 22, 1949, Serial No.',82,761

7 Claims.

,v 1 My invention relates to the general art of preparing seafoods and more particularly to the art of assimilating a large shrimp product or other shrimp food from bred and shredded small and broken shrimp. c

The object of this invention is `to providev a mechanical means to libre and shred small, nonl v profitable, but highly iiavorable andy tender shrimp and broken shrimp and to employ such shredded shrimp meat in heated molds,` and thus form the lassimilated product.

Another object of this invention is to provide mechanical means for forcing fibre and shredded shrimp meat into heated molds.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a .rotating die table in whichthe molds are surrounded by a heating jacket and to provide means to supply steam, vhot water or other means of heat to the jacket and to provide for the escape of steam condensate from the jacket or to provide for circulation of hot water or other heat carrying liquid through the mold jacket.

AAnother object of the invention is to provide a cooling jacket surrounding a hopper into which the meat from broken and small shrimp may be introduced and maintain such shrimp meat in its chilled state until shredded.

A still further object of this invention is to provide automatic operation for cleaning the molds. A still further object of this invention is to provide automatically controlled means for lubricating the molds prior to their injection with bred and shredded shrimpy meat aggregate.

A Another object of this invention is to provide synchronous operation of all the hereinbefore recited operations.

The assimilated shrimp is made of a size comparable to the full grown large variety, the socalled jumbo shrimp, by shredding .the tender and highly avorable meat of broken and young shrimp in such a manner that the bres, more or less separated by shredding of the meat, will become intangled and surrounded by the natural protoplasmic substances and jellying matters cona tained in the shrimp and extracted therefrom in the shredding process. The libres thus segregated act as a reinforcement and upon'solidifyin'g of the protoplasmic and jellying substances by application of heat a large marketable shrimp is produced which possesses all the flavor and tenderness of the young and small variety and will retain its molded shape. Y y

This assimilated shrimp may be frozen or processed and canned in the same manner as the ordinary shrimp. The heating operation ,necesshrimp ejecting, die cleaning and lubricatingA sary to solidify the shredded meat will keep it for v a considerable time under ordinary refrigeration.

In its. frozen state it is quite superior to the fresh The individually frozen and glazed shrimp have an outstanding sales appeal andthus constitute a valuable and new contribution to the sea food market.

While the product heretofore describedrefers may not be readily removed from the moldsby the method used for ejection of the assimilated shrimp, it is understood that a variation in construction of the molds, ejecting, cleaning, and lubricating device may be made to suit the different products without departing from the invention.

shredding mechanism taken along lines I--I of Figure 3. f f

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional View of the shredder unit.

Figure 3 is ay section taken along lines III-III` of Figure 1 showing the feeding cylinder, plunger, dies, rotating die table and operating mechanism.

Figure 4 is a plan view, partially in section, f

showing the feed cylinder, die table and dies,

mechanism. c

Figure 5 is a plan View of the indexing mechanism for the die table taken along line V-V ofv Figure 3 with some portions of the mechanism being broken away to more clearly illustrate the invention.

Figure '6 is a sectional plan view taken along lines VI-VI of Figure 3 showing cam actuated valves for operating the shrimp ejecting, cleaning and lubrication apparatus.A

Figure '7 is a sectional elevational Viewy of thel mechanism for ejecting the finished product from the dies taken on line VII-VII of Figure 4 with some portions of the mechanism being Abroken Y away to more clearly illustrate the invention.

Figure 8 is a sectional elevational view of vthe mechanism for cleaning the dies taken along line VIH-VIII of Figure 4 with some portions of the.

mechanism being broken away illustrate the invention.

to more clearly Figure 9 is a plan View, partially inlsection,v showing the machine equipped with a differentiy type of mold requiring manual removal of the.v

shrimp and manual cleaning and lubricating of the mold. v

Figure 10 is a side view with one mold and feeding mechanism` shown in section.

In the drawings, the peeled and deveinedy shrimp are conveyed from thev cleaning tables Still other objects and advantages willbecome apparent from the following description of theA present invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which.

` Figure l is Va sectional view of the feeding and,

into hopper I which is surrounded by a jacket 2 containing' circulating coolant in order to maintain the shrimp at their cold stage. Thev shrimp are conveyed by screw conveyor e onto rotating shredder fl which has a conical shaped body provided with a number of spiral grooves 5 on its upper surface. 'ihexhousing for the shredder 4 is formed by the member Se which contains straight radial ridges i which housing has slightly larger taper to perinit easy entry of the shrimp into the shredder. Themaction ci this unit is such that it will tear theI shrimp apart, rather than grinding the meat and; thereby, to a large extent preserve the iibers of the meat, and at the same time squeeze out the protoplasrnic and the jellying substance contained in the meat to form the binding matter for the assimilated product as will hereinafter become apparent.

From the shredder i the mass is conveyed by screw conveyor 8 through Vpassage e into the chamber i where it is ready to be forced into the molds 29 (Fig. 3).

Returningto the screw conveyors 3 and d and shredder d in Fig. 1, it will be seen that these th'ree units are rotating on a single shaft i! powered through a spring biased clutch, generally indicated at iii with an operating handle l5, meshing shaft ii with gear extension HA of .gear I2', which gear in turn meshes with gear I3 keyed to the shaft It.

Clutch le is to provide `means to stop the feed in'g action. It will be noted that the clearance between the stationary ridges grooves 5 may be adjusted by means of screw device 1 1. v Y Y `As seen from 8 the shredded shrimp in chamber l5 are forced by the action of piston IB 'out through Yopenings le into the molds 2@ until such molds are completely fille-:1. Egress of the Vshrimp from the narrow ends of themolds is prevented by flanges ffii (see Fig. 4). The chamber te is in effect heating. rThat is, its housing 2'4 isfsuppo'rted by spring biased plungers 22 and 23 acting to force the housing against the molds 29. This y'permits reciprocating niotion of the housing 2li so that whenever the pis'n ton 'is withdrawn 'the housing is simultaneously withdrawn 'from the ace ci the die 2i?. This action Yis accomplished through rocker arrn 24A being acted vupon at one end by the cam 25 pressing against plunger This "action is desirable in order to prevent the suction created by the retraction of the piston I8 from withdrawing any product from the mold 20. Actuating cam 25 is keyed to shaft i6.

The housing 21, and its support 2l is secured in place by a Vcircular ring 2&3 in such a manner that 'upon 'loosening ofring 2t and disconnection of piston lS by lscrew 2S the entire cylinder, hopper, shredder and conveyor apparatus may be Vrevolved 9G and Vdisassembled to facilitate cleaning.

A piston i8 `is connected to drive wheel 3e through adjustable piston rod 23A and vpin 29 on eccentrically mounted block 3i of drive wheel 30. It will be noted that the length of the piston stroke 'may be Vvaried by adjustment of the connector 32 or 'the position of block 3| by means of the screw 33. Drive Wheel 3B is driven through a spring, biased clutch 3l! on shafts 35 and 35 to gear 31 which 'in turn meshes with gear 38 on shaft I6. Lever 49 generally indicates the clutch operating lever.V

and the rotatingy 25 to retract the nous-f ing 24 through 'the 'pin and fork connection 24B.

The die table et contains a pluralityr of the assimilated shrimp molds 20 as may be noted in Figs. 3 and 9. This die table is intermittently rotated in order to present a fresh set of molds on each actuation to openings I9 of the chamber l5. The molds 2t are surrounded by heating chambers di in which chambers steam is admitted through.4 connections 42 and 43. The steam is circulated through each set of molds and leaves the heating chamber via connections dll, steam trap d5, pipe te, drilled hole 41 in shaft 5i kand swivel joint connector (le. The rotating die table 4i) is ball-bearingly mounted at it? on frame and rotated on shaft 5i by indexing plate termittently rotated whenever the spring biased pawl 53 of arms 5d and 55 engage the forward portion of a notch 56.' Arms 54' and'5 are loosely fitted on the hub of indexing plate 52 at one end and pivotally1 connected at 51A to rod 5l. This last named rod 511s adjllstbly connected to ring 5e which is rotated by eccentrically inverted wheel 58A of shaft i6. A spring biased pawl 5s prevents bach lash in the index'- ing table and a spring biased lock pawl Si! prevents motion of the indexing table until on the return stroke of arm 54 it is cammed out of position by the action o'f a projection 5| on the arm against portion 52 of the pawl.

Shaft i5 through which power and `synchronisin for the die table the shredder, and molding operations is transmitted, is keyed to gear 63 (Fig. 1) Ywhich in turn meshes with pinion 54 rotated by shaft 55. Shaft 55is rotated through 1:. a clutch generally indicated at 65A which comprises driving member B, driven member 67. earns 56 and'cam surface 69. As seen in Fig. 4, the driving member 65 is actuated by motor 'it through belt 15A. The Voperation of clutch 55a is accomplished through lever 1| which is pivotally connected to member 1'2 which in turn is pivoted at "e3 (Fig. 1) to member 'I4 (Fig. 1) and clutch lever 'I 5.

As best seen in Fig. '7 the ejection of the shrimp from the molds 2e is accomplished by forcing compressed air through nozzles .'Sinto the small end of the molds. The shrimp which are loose in the mold `due to shrinkage are then in view of its curved and tapered shape easilyforeed out lthrough the large opening of the molds through the chute 'i' and kinto the chamber 58. Application of lthe compressed air is accomplished by attaching chamber lil to a line 185i which is connected to three-way valve El (Figs. 3 and 6). The air ejection apparatus is pivotally 'mounted at 32 (Fig. 7) so that it maybe pivoted kaway from the rotating die table 45. Normally the nozzles are biased away from the `die by the action of spring 8S against the piston k85 and housing 87 attached to lthe frame 5e. Piston is connected by a rod 88 to link. `84 which in turn-is pivoted to the lever 83. This 4lever is pivoted at 22 and supports ythe container for the nozzles 16. When compressed air "from the three-way valve 8l is forced through pipes B and el), and enters the compartment@ it overcomes the spring 86 to :pivot the' nozzles into working position'. Screw Ei' provides an adjustable stop for the piston S5.

Ina similar manner a clean out station will next be lbrought into play (Fig. 8). On the subsequent indexing of the die table 4t the mold from which the assimilated shrimp has been ejected will now vbe presented to the cleanout station `shown in Fig. 8. In this case high pressure water Indexv plate 52 (Fig. 5) is infrom pipe 92 will be forced through nozzlesn93 into molds 20 and out onto the drip pan 94 and then drained by pipe 95. In a manner similar to that describedfor the ejecting station, nozzles are presented to the mold openings for operation and then pivoted away from the die table. In this case it is accomplished through pivot 95A and lever 96, link 96A, piston rod 91 and spring biased piston 98. The control for water, injection at pipe 92 and air injection at pipe 99 is controlled by three-way valves and |0| (Fig. 3) respectively as will hereinafter be described.`

As seen in Fig. 4, at a following station lubricating vegetable oil is sprayed into the moldopen- `ings through nozzles |02 and |03 by compressed air entering pipe |04 from the three-way valve |05 (Fig. 3). The Vegetable oil is bled from pipes |06A and |0'|A into the compressed air pipes. As will benoted in Fig. 3, all `three-way valves are operated from a shaft |06 which is keyed to gear |07 and Which in turnv meshes With gear |08 of shaft 36.

Referring specically to Fig. 6, it willbe notedv that the three-Way valve 8|, which is similar to valves |00, |0| and |05 is actuated by adjustable cams |09 and ||0 through rocker arm By means of adjusting cams |09 and ||0 the valve 8| may be properly timed and synchronized with the remainder of the machine. Valves |00, |0| and |05 are similarly actuated. Y

' While many shrimp products may be produced `in this machine by using'adierent shaped mold,

some of these products would due to their shape, be difcult to eject from the type of mold heretofore described and would therefore require a split mold. Such molds are shown in Figs. 9 and 10, mounted on die rtable ||2 consisting of a cir` The moldv cular ribbed disc keyed to shaft 5|. l generally shown at ||3 in Fig. 10 is split horizontally into two halves, the lower half I4 being attached to die table ||2. The upper halfV l |5 is hinged to the lower part on pin H6. Lever ill, v

being part of the upper half of the mold, is pivotally connected lat ||8 to piston rod ||9 of cylinder 20. The yopposite end of cylinder |20 is pivotally secured to thedie table l I2 by pin |2|. By admitting fluid to cylinder l 20 by rmeans of four-way valves |22 with operating handle |23 the motion of the piston Will'act upon'arm and raise the upper half of the mold H5, allowing the assimilated product to be removed and the'dies to be brushed clean and lubricated. By moving operating handle |23 of valve |22 in opposite direction the flow of fluid to` cylinder |20 will Lbe reversed and the action of the piston on lever through'piston rod ||9 will close the mold maintaining sufficient pressure while the shredded shrimp meat is injected into the mold through opening |24 innozzle |25 of housing |26 from chamber '|21 by piston I8 in same manner as has already been described. Y

As may be noticed in Fig. 9 which shows th upper'part of the mold removed, a plurality of assimilated shrimp may be produced by each in-l jectiony each shrimp cavity in the mold being connected to a central channel |28 by a small passage |29.

For heating of the mold steam or hot Water is admittedthrough pipes |30 and 3| and Yflexible. connection |32 to heating chambers |33and |34 of the mold. Return for the fluid is provided by means of connection |35 into drilled hole |36 in shaft 5| from where it is discharged through a swivel joint connection 48 in Fig. 3 attached to theend of the shaft. l

machine are synchronized and are designed in such a fashion that the machine will continuously produce the' assimilated shrimp.

While the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described it will be understood that variation in detail and form may be made without departure from'the invention.

I claim:

1. In a molding apparatus for Amanufacturing assimilated shrimp from shreddedv shrimp meat, comprising a circular die table having a mold'of semi-circular cross-section therein provided with twoV terminal openings extending through the periphery thereof, an injection element for supplying meat to said mold having a concave surface complementary Vto the periphery of said mold andin contact therewith, said injection ele' ment having an opening therein registering with one of the openings of said mold, the concave surface of said injection element extending over the second opening of said mold.

2. The apparatus of claim l, in which said die table is rotatable and in which there are compressed air means spaced from said injection element and adjacent the periphery of the table and alineable with one of the openings in the moldfor ej ecting the assimilatedl shrimp product from the mold, means spaced from said ejecting means and adjacent the table and alineable with one of said openings for cleaning the mold, and operating means connected to said die table, said injection element, said compressed air means for ejecting shrimp, and said means for cleaning theA molds for simultaneously controlling and synchronizing the molding apparatus.

3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, in which said die table is rotatable and in which there are com` pressed air means spaced from said injection element and adjacent the periphery of the table and alineable with one of the openings in the mold for ejecting the assimilated shrimp product from the mold, means spaced from said ejecting means and adjacent the table and alignable with one of said openings for cleaning the mold, means spaced from said means for cleaning the mold and adjacent the table and alignable with one of said mold openings for lubricating the mold in preparation for a following injection of shredded. shrimp meat, land operating means connectedto said'die table, said injection element, said compressed air means for ejecting shrimp, said means for washing the mold, and said means for lubrieating the mold for simultaneously controlling and synchronizing the molding apparatus.

4. In a molding apparatus for manufacturing assimilated shrimp from shredded shrimp meat, an intermittently rotatable die table having'a plurality of spaced molds therein, said molds being similar in shape to a shrimp and each having an opening for receiving material to be mold ed, an injection means comprising a housing slidably mounted with respect to said molds, said housing having a chamber open at one end for the reception of material to be introduced into said molds, and a second opening at its opposite end for egress of said material, said second openingbeing alignable with the opening of each of said molds upon sliding movement of said housing toward each of said molds as each of said molds is positioned opposite said second opening, said housing being engageable with each of said molds as their openings are respectively alignable With said second opening, plungers connected to said housing and slidably mounted with respect to said molds and slidable with said housing, and spring members connected to said housing and retained ina position such as to urge said housing toward said molds, and a piston movable to- Ward said chamberl adjacent the open end thereof to eject material outwardly through said second opening into a mold when said housing is in contact with a mold, said piston being movable outwardly of said chamber after injection of material into a mold, and means for sliding said housing away from said molds as said piston is moved outwardly of said chamber.

5. In a molding apparatus for manufacturing assimilated. shrimp from shredded shrimprmeat, an intermittently rotatable die table having a plurality of spaced molds therein, said molds being similar in shape to a shrimp and each having an opening for receiving material to he molded, an injection means comprising a housing slidably mounted with respect to said molds, said housing having a chamber open at one end for the reception of material to be introduced into said molds and a second opening at its opposite end for egress of said material, said second opening being alignable with the opening of each of said molds upon sliding movement of said housing toward each of said molds as each of said molds is positioned opposite said second opening, said housing being engageable with each of said molds as theiropenings are respectively alignable with said second opening, plungers connected to said housing and sldably mounted with respect to said molds and slidable with said housing, spring members connected to said housing and retained in a position such as to urge said housing toward said molds, and a piston movable toward said cham-Y ber adjacent the open end thereof to inject material outwardly through said second opening into a mold when said housing is inv contact with a mold, said piston being movable outwardly of said chamber after injection of material into a mold, and means for sliding said housing away from said molds as said piston is moved outwardly of said chamber, and compressed air nozzles spaced from said injectionmeans, said nozzles being directed at one open end of a mold alined therewith to eject the assimilated shrimp product from the last named mold, a control means connected to said die table, said injection means and said nozzles for synchronizing the operation thereof.

'6. In'a molding apparatus for manufacturing assimilated shrimp from shredded shrimp meat, an intermittently rotatable die table having a plurality of spaced molds therein, said molds being similar in shape to a shrimp and each having an opening for receiving material to be molded, an injection means comprising a housing slidably mounted with respect to said molds, said housing having a chamber open at one end for the reception ci material to be introduced into said molds and a second opening at its opposite end for egress of said material, said second opening being alignable with the opening of each of said molds upon sliding movement of said housing toward each of said molds as each of said molds is positioned opposite said second opening, said housing being engageable with each of said molds as their openings are respectively alignable with said second opening, plungers connected to said housing and slidably mounted with respect to said molds and slidable with said housing, and spring members connected to saidhousing and retained in a position such as to urge vsaid housing toward said g. molds, and a piston movable toward said chamber adjacent the open. end thereof to inject material outwardly through said second opening into a mold when said housing is in contact with a mold, said piston being movable outwardly of said chamber after injection of material into a mold, and means for sliding said housing away from said molds as said piston is moved outwardly of said chamber, compressed air nozzles spaced from said injecting means, said nozzles being directed at one openfend of a mold aligned therewith to eject the lassimilated shrimp product from the lastnamed mold, and water nozzle spaced from said air nozzles and directed toward one open end of an alined empty mold for Washing the empty mold, a control means connected to said die table, said injecting means said air nozzles and said water nozzles for coordinating the operationthereof.

'7. In a molding apparatus for manufacturing assimilated shrimp from shredded shrimp meat, an intermittently rotatable die table having a plurality of spaced molds therein, said molds being similar in shape to a shrimp and each having` an opening for receiving material to be molded, an injection means comprising a housing slidably mounted with respect to said molds, said housing having a chamber open at one end for the reception of material to be introduced into said molds anda second opening at its opposite end for egress of said material, said second opening being alignable with the opening of each of said molds upon sliding movement of said housing toward each of said molds as each of said molds is positioned opposite said second opening, said housing being engageable with each of said molds as their openings are respectively alignable with said second opening, plungers connected to said housing and slidably mounted with respect to said molds and slidable with said housing, and spring members connected to said housing and retained in a position such vas to urge saidhousing toward said molds, and a piston movable toward said chamber adjacent the open end thereof to inject material outwardly through said second opening into a mold when said housing is in contact with a mold, said piston being movable outwardly of said chamber after injection of material into a mold, and means for sliding said housing away from said molds as said piston is moved outwardly of said chamber, compressed air nozzles, spaced from said injecting means, said nozzles being directed at one open end of a mold aligned therewith to eject the assimilated shrimp product from the last-named mold, water nozzles spaced from said air nozzles and directed toward one open end of an alined empty-mold for washing the empty mold, and means spaced from said washing nozzles for lubricating each mold in preparation for a following injection of shredded shrimp, and means connected to said die table, said injecting means, said airr nozzles, .said water nozzles and said means for lubricating for controlling and synchronizing the operation thereof. A

ADOLF E. WALTIMAN.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 470,692 Merrell Mar. 15 1892 798,361 Morton Aug. 29: 1905 994,714 Boyne June 17 1911 1,969,005 ohsrnock July 26'1932 2,105,211 Bessonette Jan. l1, 1938 2,282,308 Darum May 12 1942 2,333,056 Thomson et 2.11. oct. 26: 1943 

